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Fall of Otosan Uchi
The Fall of Otosan Uchi was the destruction of the capital of Rokugan, Otosan Uchi, in 1159 on the seventh day of the month of the Rat. The city's destruction was engineered by the Dark Lord of the Shadowlands, Daigotsu, to prove to Rokugan about how they could not resist the might of the Shadowlands Horde. It saw many influential personalities involved at the time, and such as all of the Four Winds, Yasuki Hachi, Bayushi Yojiro, and Bayushi Norachai, and such acts as Matsu Nimuro slaying Goju Kyoden, among other things. The greatest reprecussions came from Daigotsu releasing the Ninth Kami, Fu Leng, from Meido. Daigotsu's Plan The Dark Lord Daigotsu, wishing to display the might of the Shadowlands and the inability of the Great Clans to deny him, began to make preperations to assault Otosan Uchi. Shahai, his consort and one of his most trusted advisors, argued against the idea, knowing that historically Otosan Uchi is all but impossible to hold (due to being easily reachable by large armies in all directions). Daigotsu's wish was not to capture the Imperial city, but rather to simply destroy it and leave it a burning ruin. Battle In Otosan Uchi: Prologue The goals for this plan were twofold - one, to destroy the city as an object lesson of the weakness of the Empire, and two, to have the clans fall upon each other in a frenzy of blame. With the ability to raise any Rokugani slain as a member of his undead horde and the might of his creations, the Onisu, Daigotsu saw little risk in the attack. Shahai was still reluctant, as taking their armies would mean draining the Shadowlands' strength along the Kaiu Kabe. Daigotsu assured Shahai that he had considered this, and had the perfect lieutenant to manage the Horde's forces that would remain - Hida Kuroda, reborn as the Onisu of Fear, Kyofu. In a bit of irony, Daigotsu planned for the Shadowlands to attack Otosan Uchi from the sea, as Hida Kisada had done several years earlier durng the Clan War. There was a fleet of gaijin ships in anchor at the City of the Lost, the very same that had assaulted Otosan Uchi during the Battle of White Stag. It was commanded by one of the original leaders during the attack, the undead pirate Garen. While only two ships remained from the battle, the Revenant and the Eternal, others had been constructed in the Shadowlands. Both the ships and the crew were long corrupted by the Shadowlands, and Garen was eager for a chance to attack the city again. Crewing his ship alongside his zombie pirates were both Tsuno, and the spirits of dead Mantis Clan sailors, bound to Meido for their greed in life. Prelude to Darkness, Part Three: The Gaijin More of his forces arrived through the Spirit Realms with the bizarre magic of the Tsuno. Secrets of the Mantis, p. 95 Assaulting the City With a dramatic display of red lightning, the Horde's forces quickly swarmed the city, leaving chaos and death in their wake. Lost samurai, oni and others rampaged freely through the Emperor's home, destroying all they could find and killing all they could catch. Among the places to fall early was the Temple of the Sun God, devoted to the sun kami Yakamo, and the Endless Journey garden which was destroyed by the death-touch of the Onisu Hakai. The Ancestral Mausoleum was pillaged of many of the Empire's greatest artifacts, particularly those relating to the defeat of Iuchiban, by Jama Suru and the Nightmare of the Lion, Nikushimi, and the Tsuno. Wear Him Down (A Perfect Cut flavor) Many of the entrances to the Forbidden City were blocked by debris scattered by Daigotsu's forces, to give them more time to destroy. Scattered bands of samurai and even peasants attempted to fight back, with Yasuki Hachi and Bayushi Norachai helping to lead the effort of evacuating the citizens. Battle for Otosan Uchi, Part 1 Omoni with his bakemono moved to the eastern edge of the city to support Katsu, while Tsukuro led his undead legions to the southwest. Prelude to Darkness, Part 5: The Pawn, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman Things were almost immediately bad for the defenders, with attempts to rally the city's protectors failing as reinforcements were cut off and destroyed. To attempt to circumvent the chaos, Hachi quickly instituted a chain of places where those fighting to save the city could herd the refugees more easily (as they all knew where to go next), and where one could find where one's help was needed most. Norachai discovered one of the checkpoints had all but fallen, due in part to the checkpoint's commaner Yogo Tenshin using maho in an effort to drive off the Shadowlands' attackers. The Great Sea Spider was summoned by Daidoji Ekiken, who had been fouled to use a biwa which was linked to the Kumo's power. He soon lost control of the spider, and a foul web was cast over Kyuden Seppun, preventing many Imperial Guardsmen from rushing to the city's defense. When Ekiken realized what was happening, he banished the beast back to the sea. Secrets of the Crane, p. 29 To their credit, the defenders of their city did try their best to contain and even repel the Horde's assault. Such notables as Bayushi Yojiro himself arrived to lead add reinforcements to the samurai within, arriving by magic and drawing reserves (somewhat unwillingly) from the Tortoise Clan. Yotsu Seou and her ronin family defended the traditional province of the city her family had governed for years, until she realized that it was more important to escort the refugees than protect a bit of land. Still, she swore the Sword of the Yotsu would return as soon as they were able. Sadly, many of the efforts were for naught, as dark beings like the Dark Oracle of Earth were afoot in the burning city. Shadowlands treachery allowed the embassy of the Fox Clan to be opened, and the inhabitants within cut down. Battle for Otosan Uchi, Part 2 The Return of the Ninth Kami Upon entering Otosan Uchi's Imperial Palace, Daigotsu enacted the final part of his reason, and indeed the true reason for assaulting the city. The undead pirate Garen had brought him the nemuranai known as the Porcelain Mask of Fu Leng. The Dark Lord used the mask's connection to its master and the realm-traveling rituals taught to him by the Tsuno to enter Meido, the Realm of Waiting. There, he purposefully encountered Emma-O, the Fortune of Death. Daigotsu mocked the Fortune, who ran the Dark Lord through with his spear. This was precisely what Daigotsu had desired, and he used the opportunity to place the Porcelain Mask upon Emma-O's face. Wracked by pain, Emma-O was forced to comply with Daigotsu's command to bring the soul of Fu Leng to their location. Prelude to Darkness, Part 6 Killed while in a mortal body (that of Daigotsu's older brother Hantei XXXIX), Fu Leng's soul went to Meido when it perished. Emma-O had insured that Fu Leng could not escape on his own, but the power of the mask was too much for the Fortune to bear and so released Fu Leng from his captivity. Fu Leng removed the spear from Daigotsu, healing the wound, and commended his younger brother for the great works he had achieved. While Fu Leng would be unable to enter the mortal world for another thousand years without a human body to inhabit, Daigotsu told him there was a way to set his sights considerably higher. Daigotsu told his older brother that he could use the second nemuranai that he carried, the mask worn by the Wolf, Toturi Sezaru, and use it to travel to Tengoku and from there storm the gates of the Celestial Heavens and return to his original home. Fu Leng readily agreed, and summoned the spirits of his most powerful Oni Lords - Akuma no Oni, The Maw and Yakamo no Oni and left to begin a new war in the heavens. Battle's End The defenders of the city were finally able to push back the forces of the Horde, though they were barred from from entering the palace itself by the magical wards placed centuries ago that ensured only the blood of the Hantei line (and later the Toturi, which had the blessing of Tengoku) could enter during a time of crisis. Daigotsu had activated these wards, ensuring that he might perform his ritual uninterrupted. Matsu Nimuro and a number of allied samurai fought to defend the land they had retaken, and trying to hold out for one of Four Winds to arrive. Revelation It was Toturi Tsudao whom arrived first, with her Imperial Legion commanders, teleported to the city by the Naga magic of Ghedai. She and her bushi fought their way to the Emperor's palace, and without hesitation entered her home, knowing she would have to do so and face whatever was inside alone. She was not alone, however, as she met a lone Scorpion named Bayushi Tai. Tai claimed to have been inside the palace for reasons of his own when the wards went up, but as far as he could tell he was the only survivor. The two of them encountered Daigotsu himself in the throne room, seated upon the Steel Throne while several maho-tsukai were focused on performing a ritual of some sort. Tsudao and Tai quickly killed the shugenja, which was as Daigotsu intended, as they were performing a spell that would allow Daigotsu to return to the Shadowlands and their deaths were the spell's final component. Daigotsu offered Tsudao a chance to stand aside and let him leave in peace, but The Sword refused. Tsudao told Tai to step aside, and with that, she charged the Dark Lord. The daughter of Toturi was very skilled, but Daigotsu turned the tide of the duel by using maho of his own. Tsudao noticed that his concentration would wane upon casting his spells, and took that moment to strike. She wounded Daigotsu severely, cutting off one of the Dark Lord's arms. Daigotsu swore that now the Empire would fall, where once he would have been content to let Fu Leng's victory over Tengoku decided Rokugan's fate. Too injured to perform more magic, Daigotsu fled into the portal. Tsudao stood triumphant in the throne room, but at a heavy price. The city was in ruins, and even the Steel Throne was Tainted by the Daigotsu's presence. Bayushi Tai offered to have his Clan cleanse the Throne, though secretly he was planning to take it to his masters in the Shadowed Tower. With a new Dark Lord in command of the Shadowlands and Fu Leng himself invading the Celestial Heavens, it was then and there that Tsudao realized that Rokugan must be united under an Emperor now more than ever. Aftermath The Kitsu confirmed with their ancestors that the Imperial City was cursed beyond redemption and Nimuro commanded the Legion of Wolf, alongside with the Sword of Yotsu, to put the city to the torch. Otosan Uchi was no more. Clan Letter to the Lion #20 (Imperial Herald v2 #5) The Tortoise Clan also remained there. Imperial Proclamation (Fall of Otosan Uchi flavor) The Ninube remained there, after they turned away a Lion group through threatens and deception. The Ruins of Otosan Uchi, Part 1, by Shawn Carman Known Casualties * Asako Kaushen * Goju Kyoden * Isawa Moriyasu * Kaiu Taikan * Kakita Hisashi * Kasuga Hyobe * Kitsune Kiyo * Kitsune Taro * Mirumoto Hoitsu * Seppun Hideko * Seppun Oroku * Shiba Bajiru * Shosuro Taushui * Tsi Matsuo Otosan Uchi 1159